Ecclesiastes is the consummate book for
the post-modernist lost in the foggy swamp of a meaningless life.
Ferguson gently takes the reader down the road of futility traveled
by Qoheleth (the “Pundit”), as Qoheleth searches vainly for
something that would fill the emptiness of his life. When all the
canyons and byways have been revealed as dead ends, Ferguson directs
the reader’s attention to the poor wise man of Ecclesiastes
9:13-15, and applies the text to Christ, the wisdom of God who became
poor that we might be rich. In the final chapter, using a wealth of
resources from the Scriptures, Ferguson invites the reader to
discover the proper fear of God (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
Never does Ferguson get into the weeds
regarding who the Pundit is (Solomon? someone else?), or when it was
written, or any textual issues or technical details of the Hebrew
language. He takes the English text of the NIV and interacts with it
as it is. He writes with the warmth and sensitivity of a modern-day
C. S. Lewis, eschewing off-putting, academic jargon. The book is
penned for the common man.
The result is a well-written, pastoral,
sympathetic, eighty-eight page gospel tract that will be particularly
helpful to people of the current generation. Read it yourself, and
give it to a friend who is beginning to discover that life under
the sun promises much more than it delivers. Five stars, highly
recommended.
